'Mad Men' set decorator searches for period furniture in Pasadena area stores

Creating the pitch-perfect period interiors for the 1960s drama "Mad Men," a show with a devoted following of design enthusiasts, is a daunting task. The AMC series, which begins its third season Aug. 16, has set scenes not only in a Madison Avenue advertising firm but also in Brooklyn, upstate New York and Palm Springs, requiring dozens of rooms to look Manhattan swank and suburban traditional. It's enough to drive set decorator Amy Wells loopy.

"I definitely have loops that I travel when I am shopping for the show," said Wells, who lives in South Pasadena and took along The Times as she made the rounds on one of her secondhand shopping circuits.

"Pasadena has the creme de la creme of used furniture stores on this part of the planet," she said.

After bypassing an Out of the Closet thrift shop on South Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena, Wells headed a few blocks north to the Huntington Collection in Pasadena for its last-Saturday-of-the-month sale.

"They have automatic markdowns after a piece has been on the floor for four weeks," she said, "and the items that are sold on consignment often have a more life-well-lived look and are in exceptional condition. And don't forget to check the annex, which is almost all furniture."

Wells looks for furniture with good bones, drawers that slide out easily and upholstered pieces that are easy to re-cover.

"It doesn't have to be a familiar brand name to be quality," she said.

She avoids mass-market 1950s designs made from inferior materials.

"Even back then there were cheap, crappy things," she said. "That quality remains poor to this day."

She isn't put off by scratches and rings on furniture.

"Old wooden furniture, particularly American walnut and Scandinavian teak, is so forgiving," said Wells, who swears by an oil-based rub-on and wipe-off product called Restor-A-Finish sold at hardware stores and antique centers.

Second stop: Pasadena Antique Center, also on South Fair Oaks, which she recommends for traditional styles and more upscale refinished pieces.

"They have everything from Victorian to Art Deco, Hollywood Regency and Palm Springs modern," Wells said.

The sprawling two-story building is filled with dealer booths. Among Wells' favorites: Now/Again for ornate furniture, MJH Design Arts for Baroque and neoclassical antiques, Jack W. Smith for Art Deco, the Modern Zoo and Vintage Vintage! Vintage! for midcentury modern. She credits Bonita Interiors with providing many of the traditional and lacquered pieces used in the "Mad Men" living room of lead character Don Draper.